An RWJF Collection

Community Programs Help Prevent Youth Violence

The Community Violence Prevention Project (CVPP) at the Harvard School of Public Health assists local leaders in planning, implementing and evaluating violence prevention projects in their communities.

Although many cities witnessed declines in overall rates of crime and adult homicide during the 1990s, homicide rates among teens and young adults increased by 62 percent from 1985 to 1993, according to the Uniform Crime Report.

Key Results

Under the first grant (ID# 027706), project staff:

Completed a guidebook, Peace by Piece, which provides local leaders with a "toolbox" for implementing violence prevention programs in their communities.

Provided technical assistance to community leaders.

Trained a network of violence prevention practitioners.

Promoted evaluations of violence prevention projects.

Under the second grant (ID# 028789), project staff:

Developed a violence prevention workshop series for teenage girls in Boston.

Convened two meetings for family members of children who had died under violent circumstances.

Created a national policy report with recommendations for improving treatment of survivors of violence.